Staying outside London center

I just saw the post from the same time as mine with the same question. An airbnb in the range of $300-$400 per night would be good. Probably for 5 nights.

Besides the AirBnB website also consider Vrbo to help with your accommodation search.

Don’t go too far out from say Westminster as you’ll spend too much time on transport.

Public transport is good in London. Underground, Overground, Busses.

As far as “ nice “ neighborhoods consider Marylebone, Hammersmith, Notting Hill, Earl’s Court, Kensington, South Kensington, and Camden.

You've probably thought about this, but be sure to include the daily cost of transportation in and out of London for 6 folks. I once stayed in Ealing' a couple blocks from the Tube' and it seemed to be a nice family neighborhood. I remember we found good restaurants and the B & B host was fabulous. I don't think the family does B & B anymore though.

Be very careful with using AirBnB in London. Many can be economical with the truth on location and a number are illegal lets.

Two years ago, we spent a couple of weeks staying in Streatham Hill, in the suburbs south of Central London. It was a pleasant neighborhood, not fancy, but had supermarkets and bakeries, a good fishmonger’s, and a few restaurants - mostly Jamaican and Indian. The tube doesn’t go that far south, so it was an hour’s bus ride to Central London (very convenient bus stops), or a shorter bus ride to the Brixton tube station, where you can catch the Underground. I once stayed on the train (corrected: I originally said bus) to the Streatham stop (beyond Streatham Hill), and it was scary, with unsavory people hanging around it - I wouldn’t stay in plain Streatham.

Another option in your budget is booking 2 rooms at a Premier Inn. They have a few near the Earl's Court Station and the Hammersmith Station, both on the convenient District Line and the Piccadilly Line. They offer family rooms. The Premier Plus rooms have a mini fridge. 2 rooms means 2 bathrooms. Premier Inn are basic, but they are known to be clean and comfortable.

I once stayed on the bus to the Streatham stop (beyond Streatham Hill), and it was scary, with unsavory people hanging around it - I wouldn’t stay in plain Streatham.

lol the good people of Streatham would have welcomed you with open arms Cyn!

A friend of mine from St Louis Missouri lives in Streatham. She's not unsavoury in the slightest.

I wouldn't put it top of my list for AirBnB destinations though, admittedly. If anything, because it's a bit of trek into central London. The trains go up to London Bridge from Streatham, but it is in the region of 30 minutes journey.

Fulham and Clapham are two places that spring to mind that have lots of housing, some of it big enough for a party of six.

I like Islington. I think that's close enough to central London for the visitor but still a "nice" enough neighbourhood that it's not scary. Off Upper Street, between Angel and Highbury Corner, if that helps with the AirBnB map search.

Cyn mentioned Brixton. That's good that it has a fast Underground link to central, but if you want the full multicultural London experience it's a colourful neighbourhood.

I was a little surprised to read that about Streatham- it's full of families and the Capital Ring Walk goes right thru Streatham Common. There's even a little secret garden on the common called the Rookeries which is very nice. However, I agree the transport links in south London in general are not great. I think Gerry's got a good suggestion with Islington, or in the south/west area near Hammersmith. Further west, Chiswick is also a very nice area.

Streatham itself sounds like a good location with great residents, but I was very uneasy with the people hanging around outside the Streatham train station. I got the sense they were drug addicts and/or were up to no good. I was by myself at the moment, and got away from there as quickly as I could. Nowhere else in/around London has ever given me that “this place is dangerous” vibe, but the Streatham station definitely did.

Denver, Colorado’s Union Station was having problems with drug users leaving needles in public spaces for some time, and nearby, Boulder had to close the restrooms for more than a year because of that as well.

Streatham itself sounds like a good location with great residents, but I was very uneasy with the people hanging around outside the Streatham train station.

I get you. It's not a wealthy neighbourhood, for sure it's got some problems. It's good to be aware of who's around you. I've had plenty of people ask for money because they have addictions in London, but I've never had any trouble.

My response was slightly tongue in cheek because I know Streatham is a bit on the rough side, but like I say, a friend of mine bought a house there, lives there and gets around on her bike no problem. You get used to being around a mix of people in neighbourhoods in London, like where I stay in Hackney too. It's a healthy thing to keep an eye out still. There's lots of women that might not feel as cavalier around men in the street as me.

What is the age make up of your family? Over 16s will be classed as adults and many hotels will have limits on room occupancy. I tend to use Premier Inn. They have a limit of two adults per room, although they do have family rooms for those with younger children. I suspect you would have to go for two rooms anywhere.
Hammersmith is just outside the central core but very easy to travel in, taking around 5 minutes. This trip will count on the daily cap, which you will be adding to once in the centre so will be negligible.

Richmond could work.

We became big fans of Shephards Bush when we stayed there last summer. Very convenient to transit, lots of shops and restaurants, a huge mall, plenty of grocery store options. It's not a polished touristy area but that made it even more appealing to us. A bit noisy where we stayed (on Shepards Bush Rd near Goldhawk Rd) if you aren't used to city sounds but we never felt unsafe, even when walking back to our lodging late at night.

Thank you all for your responses...lots of great suggestions! I'm going to get out the map and make decisions!!

Our group ages are 11, 13 , 15 with their parents in their 40's and me in my 70's. So quite a mix.

We are looking forward to the trip. One of the things that we want to see is the Nineveh collection at the British Museum.

After London, we are doing a week bike tour along the Adige River in Northern Italy. Haven't been there, but it is the area where the Olympics took place.

Thank you again and if you think of other suggestions, I would love to hear them.
Happy Travels!!

I'd thought about Richmond too. It's a nice family friendly area. The only thing is it's in zone 4 on the transport system, which makes it an expensive journey into central London (zone 1) for six.

If you get yourself within ten minutes walk of a tube station, you can make a lot of places a little further out work. Looking at your public transport options around your lodgings is a good way to help make decisions. Between Underground, Overground, DLR and buses, you've often got a few options for transport outside of central, especially in the boroughs immediately surrounding the main tourist areas. Having a good look at a map of London helps I think, alongside a transport map including the tube and Overground trains.

Due to the location of an annual meeting in my working life, I have stayed near Hammersmith Station a number of times. I found it an excellent location, served by four Underground lines (Piccadilly, Circle, District, and Hammersmith and City) as well as a major bus hub. Easy trip to/from Heathrow, easy into central London. Good array of restaurants and shops, and a great river walk with some great historic pubs.

Looking at all these suggestions, if we're going for a bit "gritty", my suggestion would be Walthamstow. There's a Travelodge right by the station. Zone 3, on Victoria Line and also BR to Liverpool Street. Plenty of restaurant options, though definitely not foodie.

But, IMO I would go for a central London location. The downside of extra cost of travelling into London, and the time involved would rule out - for me - staying outside the city centre. I know when, in the past, I've had to be very budget conscious in this area, its just never worked for me.

Also, if you are arriving at the end of May, a lot will already be booked up now so you need to make a decision pretty quickly.

I would be looking at two rooms in a PI, somewhere central.

Monday 25th May is a bank (public) holiday in the UK and there will also be school half term holidays around then so expect everywhere to be busy and accommodation prices likely to be higher. You do need to get something booked.

Bank holiday weekends are when TFL and Network Rail do engineering work meaning train and tube lines can be out of action or not running for their entire length. There are nearly always alternative routes you can take but it can make journey times significantly longer and much less convenient. It’s worth checking on this when looking at locations if your visit at the end of May includes the bank holiday period.

I understand why you might want to look away from the centre of town but it is worth doing the maths on how much you might save compared to travel costs. Nowhere in London is cheap and when you factor in travel costs for 6 any savings might start to evaporate.
Also don’t underestimate the time, and potential effort, involved in commuting into town. It could very quickly eat into the time and energy you have available during a day.

All that said, if you find some locations you are interested in please let us know and we can give an honest locals opinion.

Edit

Sorry I forgot to include these links for transport engineering info

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/travel-information/future-engineering-works/

https://tfl.gov.uk/status-updates/planned-track-closures

I think the only real benefit to staying out of town is if you're looking to get into the vibe of a particular neighbourhood and spend some time there. For example, if I were to recommend somewhere for young people to go to the hippest restaurants and bars or go out seeing bands and DJs I'd choose Hackney, Dalston or Shoreditch. Hackney is a PITA to get to relative to other places if you're more interested in central London tourist sites every day on your visit though.

Once you go out of zone 1 or 2 the outlay on travel costs and time start to make less sense for a traditional tourist visit, as Katy and Emma pointed out, and I tend to agree.

Clapham near the Northern Line is a good location for a family stay. The Northern Line takes you direct to the West End and there are loads of places to eat and drink nearby plus you have Clapham Common.

In addition to Airbnb and VRBO you can find apartments rentals on booking.dot.com.

Please also check on transportation costs. Staying farther away from attractions means spending more money per person in Underground and trains and having to walk home from the stations after a late night out. I always think that for first timers spending more in more central accommodations is money well spent.

I feel like I should get a company parking space for the amount of times I have suggested Ivy Lettings, but I do feel they offer a nice selection of short term places in and around London if you want to pursue something other than an Airbnb. Their website is www.ivylettings.com. We used them for a flat a few years ago and were very satisfied with the company and their customer service. I just briefly checked the last week in May - didn’t know your exact dates- for this property that sleeps six in Kensington which would be a great location. Comes out a bit over $500 a night. It’s a bit more than what you said was your budget, but the location would be very close in.

They have others that may work, too. Just another option for you to check out. Sounds like a wonderful time! Have fun!

https://www.ivylettings.com/search-rentals/ab2/